Improvement in music-desks for pianos



UNITED STATES lPATENT OFFICE.

MICHAEL DOHERTY, OF CAMBRIDGEPORT, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN MUSIC-DESKS FOR PIANOS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 134,860, dated January 14, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL DOIIERTY, of Ca-mbridgeport, in the county of Middlesex and Sta-te of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Desks for Piano-Fortes, Organs, and Melodeons, te.; and that the following is a full, clear, and eX- act description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing.

The present invention relates to the mode of hanging desks, more particularly such as are used in piano-fortes, organs, and melodeons.

Heretofore a desk of this class has been hung at each end to a carrying block or holder, suitably located therefor, by a pivot or pin of the desk entering each block, and each block was adapted by a pin or shoulder to serve as abutments for the desk to limit and hold it at its desired backward inclination for use as a stand for music, Ste. As obviously under this mode of hanging to bring a desk to a horizontal position it must be swung toward or rather to the front of the instrument, the distance to which it would project over the key-board and toward or in the plane ofthe key-board lid or cover when closed depends either upon the width of the desk beyond its pivots or centers, or upon the distance which said pivots or eenters are horizontally back of the closed position of the key-board cover or lid, or upon both, as the case may be. Therefore the desk must be narrowed as to its width or its height, or its pivots or centers must be set sufficiently back, or both, and as regards either and both of said eXpedients, their limits are very narrow, as all conversant with the manufacture ofthe instruments named are well aware. Referring to the ordinary square piano-forte, while the desk can be and is set back sumciently for the key-board lid or cover to clear it when closed, yet there is then this objection, that the desk requires to be mostnicely adj usted and trimmed for it when swung on its pivots to clear the front bar to the iron frame of the instrument, near which bar the lower edge of the desk at one end is in very close proximity, and becomes still more so from the warp or spring of the desk by use. In the grand piano-fortes both the lnarrowing of the desk and set-back of its pivots, herein mentioned, are offset by arranging the carrying-blocks to slide so that the desk can be brought to a position for the lid to go clear of it in being closed. This construction of parts still requires the abutment-pins, and is not only complicated,but expensive; and, although to a considerable degree efficient and formerly used for square piano-fortes, its use for that class of piano has been generally abandoned, for reasons not necessary to here specify; and as to its employment upon organs and melodeons, there is not sufficient space for the slide of the blocks.

Under this invention the disadvantages ot' any and all of the old modes of hanging the desks are overcome, while at the same time all the advantages of each are retained. The invention consists of a pivot hanging for a desk to its blocks or holders, in which each end of the desk has two fixed pins or pivots, with the corresponding pin of the two ends projecting in the same relative pla-nc, and the two pins of each end arranged to travel in an angular groove or way of the blocks. These grooves are similar in each block, and are of a shape to accommodate the desk to its backward inclined position, and to sustain it through the bearing of the pins therein, and also to allow the desk to be brought to its horizontal position, causing the desk to suciently lift before it commences its circular movement toward the front to insure its lower edge swinging clear of the front bar or rail of the iron frame of a square piano-forte, should adesk be hung according hereto upon an instrument of such class. The invention also consists in guidegrooves for the desk-pins, which, in addition to the main feature ot' the constructionthat is, the portion for sustaining the desk in an inclined position, above stated-are of a shape to allow the desk to be swung to the rear instead of to the front 5 and, furthermore, the inA vention consists ot' combining the two preced^ ing features-that is, of constructing the pinguide grooves for the desk to be swung out of its vertical inclined position, either to the front or rear, in one and the same desk, whereby is obtained the sliding feature in the old and now prevalent mode of hanging and arranging a desk for grand piano-fortes, hereinbefore re ferred to.

In the accompanying drawing, my improvementsin desks for piano-fortes, organs, and

mclodeons are illustrated5Figure lbein ga front view of a desk hung according thereto when in its upright position; Fig. 2, a view of the in side face to one of the desk-blocks, showing the desk by dotted lines in its vertical and horizontal positions; Fig. 3, a view slmilar to Fig. 2, with the desk, shown by dotted lines, as in a horizontal position opposite to that of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4, a vertical section in plane of line Fig. 2.

In the drawing, A represents a desk-board, which in form maybe similar to any of the desks ordinarily used for piano-fortes, organs, &c. B B are two blocks. These blocks B B are secured to a board or base, C, constituting or representin g, in the present instance, the block or part of a piano-forte case just above the keyboard on which the desk is located, as ordinarily. To the blocks B B the desk A is hung, extending and standing between them, as ordinarily, and under this invention this hanging of the desk is as follows: a a2, two pins 4fixed at one end of the desk A near its lower edge D, and similarly projecting therefrom, as shown; b btwo pins similarly and correspondingly located at theend E of desk A to the pins a a2, above referred to; c, an angular groove or way of the inner face to each block B. When the blocks'are located the groove of each block is directly opposite to the groove of the other, and the two grooves c correspond in shape and direction, this shape and direction being as follows, viz: A vertical portion, d, havingl an inclination, the degree of which corresponds to the backward inclination that it is desired the desk A should have when in position for use, and a horizontal portion, f f2, into which opens the upper end of the vertical portion d. In the present instance this horizontal portion f extends both to the front and rear of the upper end of the vertical portion d, f being the front part" and f2 the rear part thereof. The grooves c are of sufficient depth to receive the pins a a2 and b bz'of the desk, and their vertical portion d is of a length a little in excess of the distance between the pins a a2 and b b2, and with theV desk and blocks B B in position, the pins a a2 are in the. groove 'c of one block B, and the pins b b2 are in the groove c of the other` block B, the portion of such grooves c occupied by the pins a a2 and b b2, in the respective horizontal and vertical positions of the desk, be-

ing shown in the drawing by Figs. 2 and 3. In the vertical position of the desk, shown by heavy dotted lines, Fig. 2, both pins of each end are in the vertical portion d ofA their respective groove .0, resting against the rear face or edge g of such portion d, and thus sustaining the desk from falling backward.

-Now, assuming the desk to be in such position to then bring it to a horizontal position,

pull it to the front or toward you. This causesv the pins a a2 and vb b2 of each end of the desk to ride up the vertical portion d' of their re- Spective grooves c, passing rst by their respective upperj pins a and vb' onto the front 'horizontal portion f of the groove c, along which such upper pins continuing to move, their lower pins a2 and b2 are then brought into the horizontal portions f f2, the weight.` and leverage of the desk holding the desk in its then complete horizontal position, as shown by Fig. 2 at L.

If thedesk be pushed backward in lieu of pulled forward, las above stated, the same movement of the pins a a2 and `b b2 occurs as above described, except that in lieu of passing into the front portion f ofthe groove c they pass into the rear portion f 2, and thereby the desk lies horizontally to the rear instead of to the front, as before.

In placing the desk in its original assumed vertical position, the pins a a2 and b b2 move in the reverse direction to both of those above described, as is obvious without further eX- planation.

The vertical portion d of the grooves c, where it enters the horizontal portion f f 2, is rounded off at both lines of intersection, as shown at k and l, Figs. 2 and 3, thereby easing the ride of the pins a a2 and b b2 into one portion, d, of the groove c from the other portion f f2, and vice versa.

To lift the desk before it commences its cir-4 cular movement, and thus, (should the desk be applied to a square piano-forte,) as it is swung into its horizontal position, insure its clearing the frontrail or bar of the iron frame to the' piano, the vertical portion d of the groove c is made of a little greater length than the dis tance that the pins a a2 or b b2 are apart upon' the desk.

Although the angular grooves chave been herein described as made with a front and rear horizontal portion, as regards the vertical portion it is obvious that only one horizontal portion is necessary to secure with the vertical portion the change of the desk from a vertical to a horizontal position, and vice versa, By, however, employing the rear portion, the desk,`

even when laid to the front, can be set back 1 into the rear portion j"2 ofthe horizontal groove, and thus located as in the ordinary and common arrangement and hanging of desks for grand piano-fortes, hereinbefore alluded to.

As to the pins a a2 and b b2, and the groove c in which they are to travel, bushings and washers of cloth and other suitable material are to be employed to prevent creaking,

d and either f or f2, and the pins a a2 and b b2, The above specification of my invention in combination'with a desk, A, and blocks B signed by me this 23d day of November,

B, substantially 'as described, for the purpose A. D. 1872.

described. M. DOHERTY.

2. In combination with the above desk and blocks, the combination in one and the same Witnesses:

angular groove c of the portions f f2 and d, JOHN B. MCELROY,

substantially as and for the purpose described. EDWIN W. BROWN. 

